Overseeder options for perking up pastures

Routine spring maintenance of conservation and grazing leys can easily be combined with an overseeding boost to the beneficial grass and clover content using an implement that can do both in one pass.

Typically, this would be a multirow flexible tine harrow equipped with an air seeder, as has become commonplace on grassland farms.

But a new generation of multi-element pasture groomers offering a more comprehensive pairing of treatments is gaining ground.

See also: Home-built overseeder improves grass in hard-to-reach fields

Flexi-tine harrows may well come with a standard or optional levelling bar to get rid of mole hills in addition to five or six rows of vibrating tines to pull out dead material, weed seedlings and break up the soil surface to help get air to the roots and provide a tilth of sorts for fresh seed.

With working widths of 6m and beyond, daily work rates are attractive, especially from heavier-duty models capable of operating at higher speeds.

A "groomer", on the other hand, will likely feature more aggressive levelling and initial scarifying tools, fewer but different sizes of flexible tines, and a rear-mounted roller to consolidate the roughened surface and encourage firm seed-to-soil contact when overseeding.

Some machines also incorporate a slitting element to slice into near-surface compaction, encourage more rapid absorption of rainwater and achieve deeper aeration into the root zone.

All prices quoted include a seeder unless stated otherwise.

The AG Harrow from Cheshire-based Garnett Farms Engineering comes in 2m, 3m, 5m and 6m sizes with twin pivoting arms supporting each section of 8mm tines.

Up to four support wheels with run-flat tyres for minimum bounce are positioned across the front of the main frame to provide consistent tine pressure and angle, both of which are adjustable, over an undulating surface.

A central mounting frame carries the AG Seeder, which distributes seed by air to splash-plate broadcasting units positioned along the front of the harrow.

Prices On application.

The spring-tine grass harrow from Agritrend is equipped with 7mm or 8mm cranked tines with central manual angle adjustment on each section.

There are sizes from 3m to 9m, all with six rows of tines resulting in an effective spacing of 25mm, and with an optional eight- or 10-blade levelling board available across the front of the implement.

Models up to 6m wide have a pair of headstock-mounted support wheels, with a further two wing-mounted on the 7.2m and 9m sizes.

All can be equipped with a £700 "budget" or more sophisticated £1,300 seed broadcaster with in-cab control.

Prices 3m – £2,445/£3,045; 6m – £4,000/£4,600.

Available in four sizes from 2m to 6m, the Grassmaster from Bedfordshire-based Browns Agricultural has 8mm flexible tines arranged in four rows at 25mm spacing, with each section mounted on twin pivot-mounted arms for consistent surface contact over undulations.

Manual tine angle and pressure adjustment (via two or four frame-mounted wheels at the front) tune the implement to different situations.

A 65- or 130-litre Stocks Fan Jet spinner or the 240-litre Stocks Turbo Jet air seeder provides overseeding capability.

The latter comes with chequerplate steps and platform and capacity for up to 16 splash-plate distribution points across the front of the implement, plus a choice of VS-2 controller with optional GPS auto rate adjustment or i-Con touchscreen controlled rate management and variable-rate capability.

Prices 3m Fan Jet – £5,225/£6,050; 3m Turbo Jet – £11,135/£13,497; 6m Fan Jet – £8,184/£9,009; 6m Turbo Jet – £14,094/£16,456.

The Sarclerse harrows from KRM are available with a 200-litre air seeder package with electric motor fan drive on sizes up to up to 7.5m, switching to hydraulic drive for the 9m and 12m versions.

Each model can carry a frame-mounted levelling board comprising independent notched blades to spread mole hills and cow pats before they are further broken up and distributed by the five rows of 7mm or 8mm cranked tines.

These are mounted in sections on twin pivot-mounted frames that flex over contours and are supported by frame-mounted adjustable depth wheels.

Prices 6m – £17,250.

The Carré Sarclerse grass harrow with levelling board and seeder © Carre

The seeder-equipped Pneumaticstar flexi-tine harrows from Austrian firm Einbock via Terrington Machinery come with a choice of mechanical (MD) or electric (STI) seeder metering roller drive – the latter with optional GPS rate control – to suit different preferences and budgets.

Both types are available with a 265-litre plastic hopper or steel 300- and 500-litre tanks, plus twin fans with electric, pto or hydraulic drive.

Based on the Grass Manager harrows, Standard versions come with 8mm tines arranged in six rows and the smaller two hoppers complete with steps and platform, while the SR and Pro versions have a heavier-duty frame to handle stiffer 10mm tines.

All variants can be equipped with front-mounted levelling boards, which are standard on the Pro 3m, 6m and 12m models, positioned ahead of the support wheels and protected by large break-back springs, to level off mole hills and the like.

Prices Pneumaticstar MD land-wheel drive 3m – £8,750; 6m – £11,420 (pto drive – £12,950, hydraulic drive – £13,600); 12m pto – £20,950, hydraulic – £21,450. MD-SR 6m land-wheel drive – £15,165, hydraulic drive – £17,500; 12m hydraulic drive (with levelling boards) – £24,450.

Pro MD version of Einbock's Pneumaticstar seeding harrow © Einbock

Opico supplies a comprehensive range of grass harrows from Hatzenbichler, the Austrian manufacturer, all of them available with highly flexible 7mm tines recommended for young leys, or stiffer 8mm tines considered more effective on long-term leys and permanent pasture.

Working widths stretch from 1.5m to 24m, with each example comprising flexible tine frames (with 10-position manually or hydraulically adjusted tine angle) mounted on twin pivoting arms to work the surface consistently.

Front levelling boards are optional, along with a front-mounted configuration for harrows up to 6m wide.

Eight- and 16-outlet seeders are available for rejuvenating tired swards or establishing new leys, with either land-wheel or electric metering roller drive, and electric or hydraulic fan drive.

Opico's Grass Master is a contractor-spec seeding model with a heavier-duty frame and front levelling board across the 6m and 8m working widths to allow faster forward speeds.

Steps and a platform give access for filling the 400-litre Hatzenbichler or newly available 240-litre Stocks Turbo Jet 16-outlet seeders, which have hydraulic fan drive and in-cab control with optional GPS constant or variable-rate control.

Prices Grass Harrow 3m with Stocks Fan Jet Pro 65 spinner – £5,378; 3m with Hatzenbichler Air 8 mechanical drive metered seeder – £9,985; 6m with Stocks Turbo Jet 8 metered seeder – £12,382.

The heavy-duty Opico Grass Master is built for intensive users such as contractors © Hatzenbichler

Available through several dealers, the pasture-tending implements from Polish manufacturer Jar-Met cover 1.5m to 12m widths by mounting a series of 1.2m or 1.5m harrow frames.

Each is on a single pivoting arm, carrying 7mm or 8mm tines in six rows with manual angle adjustment.

Options include a front-mounted levelling board – either plain or with rigid vertical blades fitted beneath – and small-diameter rear-mounted smooth rollers.

For applying seed a spinner or APV pneumatic seeder with hopper filling platform and outlets across the front of the frame are available.

Prices 6m – £7,950.

A 6m Jar-Met harrow with optional APV pneumatic seeding system © Jar-Met

The Kockerling Grasmaster from Samagri comes in 3m and 6m sizes with a row of trailing paddle tines positioned up front to spread molehills on pasture or to break down clods when establishing a new ley.

Manually adjustable support wheels come next, ahead of five rows of 8mm flexible "C" tines arranged for an effective spacing of 25mm and with each section mounted on parallel linkage for even tine loading.

The 410-litre capacity Kockerling air seeder has a pto-driven fan and land wheel drive to the metering rollers, with seed spread from diffusers positioned ahead of the harrow tines.

Prices 3m – £14,000; 6m – £18,000.

With working widths from 1.5m to 7m, and six rows of cranked flexible tines adjusted manually for angle and pressure, the Quantock grass harrow is described by Somerset-based Bryants Contracting & Engineering as a "heavy-duty implement".

The tines are mounted in sets on two pairs of arms pivoting about a central mounting assembly, with leading support wheels helping provide consistent scarifying and weeding effects.

For overseeding or establishing a new ley, the Quantock implements can be fitted with Stocks Fan Jet spinner or Turbo Jet metered air seeders, the latter adding diffusers positioned to the front of the frame.

Prices 6m Turbo Jet – £15,000 on-farm.

Although the grassland harrows built by Robert in France feature two rows of flexible tines to the rear, they are preceded by two levelling elements ahead of them to break up and spread mole hills and manure.

Distributed by Amia, the implements come in multiple sizes from 2.4m to 9.6m wide and each starts off with a row of 40cm-wide curved plates carried on a pair of trailing spring steel tines.

There is a similar arrangement for the second row, but with 10cm-wide plates on individual tines that can follow surface irregularities more effectively, while the vibrating cranked tines scarify the soil surface and riddle in seed from the APV air seeder accessed by central steps and a platform.

Steel 250mm-diameter wheels support the wider models and the spring-tensioned headstock allows the harrow to pitch fore and aft to follow contours.

Prices On application.

Manure and molehill spreading bars precede two rows of tines on the Robert DBS harrow © Robert

Czech maker SMS supplies its Lanio flexible tine harrows through GB distributor Amia, with an APV air seeder option available for patching or rejuvenating tired swards, or seeding new leys.

There are 1.95m to 11.95m working widths with the tines arranged in six rows and carried on pivoting arms to follow contours.

A full-width levelling board to scrape away mole hills and cow pats is an option mounted behind the leading stabiliser wheels.

Prices On application.

A Lanio tine harrow from Polish manufacturer SMS © SMS

The Auctus from Irish manufacturer Alstrong kicks off its five-stage pasture grooming with two rows of trailing paddle tines equipped with angled blades that scarify the soil surface to remove dead material while exposing soil patches for reseeding.

A large-diameter drum with triangular blades welded to its surface then punches slots to aerate the sward's root zone and encourage surface drainage, while two height-adjustable rows of harrowing tines further work the surface ready to receive seed from splash-plate distributors fed by an air seeder.

A cast prism roller brings up the rear to achieve good seed-to-soil contact for reliable germination.

The implement is available in 2.5t tractor-mounted and 4.5t trailed formats, the latter increasing to 5.3t with drum water ballast.

Prices 3m mounted – £18,800; 3m trailed – £32,500.

Aggressive knife tines at the front of the Alstrong Auctus © Alstrong

Austrian outfit APV distributes its 3m tractor-mounted and 6m trailed Grassland Pro harrow through a number of UK dealers, the 3m unit being operated in either rear- or front-mounted configuration.

Both implements kick off with a spring tine-mounted continuous levelling board to deal with cow pats and mole hills, followed by two rows of 12mm tines that aggressively scarify the soil surface and loosen thatch and weeds.

Trash and soil are then riddled by two rows of vibrating 8mm tines that also scatter and cover seed distributed from diffusers fed by an APV pneumatic seeder with electric or, on the 6m model, hydraulic drive to the air fan.

The working angle – and therefore aggressiveness – of both sets of tines is manually adjustable, while the cast prism or Cambridge roller fitted to rear-mounted and trailed versions is adjusted or lifted out of work by hydraulic cylinder.

Prices With Cambridge or Tooth ring roller and PS300M 1 air seeder (ex-factory) 3m – £21,416; 6m – £42,477.

APV's Grassland Pro Harrow operating in front-mounted mode © APV

The Renovator adds three rows of 8mm flexible tines – as used on the Bedfordshire-based company's Grassmaster harrow – and a seed broadcasting system to the company's Slitmaster grassland slitter.

Capable of penetrating down to 205mm (ballast can be added to the frame as needed), the slitting tines break through compaction and get air down into the root zone while encouraging drainage, and the harrow tines break up the surface and drag out dead grass, weeds and moss.

The 2.3m model comes with a 65-litre Stocks Fan Jet spinner, while the 3m Renovator has either the Fan Jet with 65- or 130-litre hopper or the air distribution Turbo Jet supplying seed to splash-plate units ahead of the harrow tines.

Prices 2.3m – £7,300; 3m Fan Jet – £8,380/£9,200; 3m Turbo Jet – £12,200.

The 3m tractor-mounted Grass 300 Harrow from Polish manufacturer Agriwir via Worcestershire-based Bullock Tillage uses four different elements to rejuvenate pasture, with an optional 200-litre air seeder added for topping up the sward content or reseeding badly poached areas.

A manually adjusted full-width levelling board mounted on a number of spring tines starts the process by dealing with cow dung, molehills and uneven ground caused by ruts.

Three rows of 10mm flexible cranked tines with turnbuckle angle adjustment then rake out dead material and open up the surface, after which a 450/500mm cast ring prism roller with hydraulic adjustment firms the resulting finish for good seed-to-soil contact.

Side-mounted steps and a platform give access to the seeder, which has electric motor drive to the metering rollers and air distribution fan.

Prices £10,995 with constant-speed control box and auto headland on/off switch; £11,845 with GPS rate/speed control.

The Bullock Grass Plus 300 with three rows of adjustable tines © Bullock

French manufacturer Carré distributes its Prairial four-stage pasture grooming implement through KRM in 3m, 4.5m and 6m sizes.

It deploys two rows of trailing vertical blades on heavy-duty "C" tines at the front to cut through any near-surface compaction and encourage drainage and aeration of the root zone.

Like the serrated paddle blades that follow to scarify the surface, the reversible knives are manually or hydraulically adjustable to determine how aggressively they work.

A Semlock air seeder with land-wheel-driven metering rollers applies rejuvenating seed, which is scattered and covered by two rows of flexible harrow tines, after which a roller can be fitted to achieve good seed-to-soil contact and encourage germination.

Prices 3m – £16,050; 4.5m – £25,780, 6m – £29,850.

The Maxiroll Greenline implements provide a four-stage pasture management tool that starts with a choice of front-mounted levelling devices.

A full-width mechanically adjustable Molehill board is mounted on heavy-duty spring tines, while the alternative row of trailing paddle tines scatter soil and manure and will tackle clods when sowing a new ley.

Next come two rows of 12mm harrow tines to scarify and loosen the soil surface in preparation for seed distributed from a Dalbo P-Box SpeedTronic air seeder with land wheel or electrically driven metering rollers.

Bringing up the rear is a 710mm-diameter flat roller, said to be the best choice when rolling over stones, or two types of ring roller – Cross Combi and Snowflake.

On the 6.3m and 8.3m trailed versions, the three plain rolls can carry water ballast.

Dalbo's Multistriegel is a new implement that separates the roller element by comprising a spring tine-mounted molehill levelling board, two rows of flexible harrow tines and rear-mounted support wheels.

A Dalbo seeder can be added to bolster tired pasture and a towing hitch enables a roller to be pulled behind.

Prices Maxiroll Greenline 3m mounted – £22,500; 6.3m – £49,950; 8.3m – £59,950. Multistriegel 6m mounted – on application.

The Grassprofi Front Harrow from Dutch firm Evers via Campey Agriculture enables pasture grooming while operating a seed drill, broadcaster or other equipment on the back of the tractor for a one-pass operation.

The 2.5m and 3m versions can have a dual linkage installation for front- or rear-mounted operation; the folding 4.5m and 5.8m versions are front-mounted only.

A pair of castor wheels supports the implement to maintain a consistent working pressure on the grooming elements, which comprise a spring-loaded adjustable levelling board for bulldozing mole hills and the like, and two rows of 13mm heavy-duty flexible tines.

The tines can be adjusted to make them more or less aggressive in raking out thatch and breaking the soil surface, which improves air access to the plant roots and prepares a modest tilth for sowing.

Prices (no seeder) 2.5m – £7,375; 3m – £7,760; 4.4m – £17,860; 5.8m – £18,565.

Wox Agri Services imports the Greenmaster range of pasture grooming and overseeding implements from German manufacturer Guttler.

A key feature of the 3m and 6m Tine Seed versions is that instead of being broadcast onto the ground, seed is delivered via tubes on the back of the sward grooming tines, which is said to result in more consistent germination, especially when seeding a new ley.

All Greenmaster implements can have a plain levelling board or a more aggressive ripper version with tines, in either case arranged in sections on flexible "C" mounts and adjustable for working depth and pressure.

The HarroFlex section follows, comprising two rows of adjustable 12mm tines, and then Guttler's signature cast prism ring roller follows to press seed into the soil while consolidating the surface.

There are rear-mounted versions in 1.8m, 2.2m, 2.5m and 3m sizes, with the largest two being in a modular format so the HarroFlex and roller sections can be operated separately.

Then there are 6m, 7.5m and 8m variants comprising a HarrowFlex section that can be operated front or rear and a towed roller with air seeder.

Prices Greenmaster 1.5m – £12,923; 8m – £44,215. Greenmaster Tine Seed 3m – £31,665 + front HarroFlex – £10,275; 6m – £33,303 + trailed rollers – £18,215.

The Grass Rejuvenator supplied through Opico by Danish implement maker He-Va comes in 2.9m tractor-mounted form and trailed 6.3m and 8.2m sizes.

Leading the way are trailing "C" spring tines, hydraulically adjustable for angle and each fitted with three aggressive slicing plates that level off surface irregularities, dung pats and molehills while disturbing thatch in the base of the sward.

Two rows of heavy-duty straight tines follow to further scarify the surface, with an optional Hatzenbichler air seeder feeding distribution outlets on the harrow frame.

A 550/600mm Prisma cast ring prism roller brings up the rear to consolidate the tilth and encourage good seed-to-soil contact for reliable germination.

Prices 2.9m – £21,769; 6.3m – £46,679.

Polish manufacturer SMS supplies the Teran N overseeder through Amia with a plain full-width levelling board or more aggressive double slicing knife elements mounted on flexible tines.

Both level off molehills and the like while the slicing knives start the scarifying treatment to remove thatch and loosen the soil surface ahead of two or three rows of harrow tines.

An APV air seeder then delivers seed via distributers ahead of a roller available in four different Cambridge, breaker and prism ring designs.

Prices On application.

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Overseeder options for perking up pastures